"My third trip to Phuket after 3 years " a Phuket Travel Page by picknick

This time we went during the offpeak season, and hotels are cheaper.

Stayed at Patong Bay Garden Resort. Went on a trip to Raya Island.

Finally have a chance to be back to this beautiful island and it's beaches. Patong is still busy as I remembered it to be b4 the tsunami.

This time, went on a day trip to Coral Island for snorkelling, great snorkelling, and Holiday Sea Canoe to PhangNga again (good to see some familiar faces).

First time to Phuket
Phuket 22 - 25 Dec 2004 (one day before disaster)

Lifoong & I took a trip to Phuket (Patong Beach) in December. I was clearing my annual leave and decided to find a nice place to relax.

There are many activities you can do at Phuket, especially if you like beaches and islands.

Just about everything in Phuket is much more expensive than in Bangkok, due to the high number of tourist in the beach area.

Also, December is the peak season, so hotel rates are almost tripled compared to the low season.

Added (26 dec 2004):
I returned to Singapore on Christmas day. The following morning, on 26 Dec 2004, a 9.0 scale earthquake erupted near Sumatra, causing tidal waves up to 4 storeys high that destroyed Phuket beach resorts (including Patong), Phi Phi Island and Phang-Nga. More than a thousand were killed and thousands more injured in Thailand. I see pictures on the internet of the places I was at less than 24 hours ago, now badly damaged. This is a sad day for all.